Far from USC, Garrett chases titles at Oklahoma's Langston U.

MICHAEL "MIKE" GARRETT
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
LANGSTON UNIVERSITY
(Photo Courtesy LU Athletics)

LANGSTON, Oklahoma - Mike Garrett's next stop after being forced out at Southern California might as well be an entirely different world.

Instead of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on his way to work leading the Hollywood of college athletic programs, his commute now includes a twisting drive past cow pastures and grazing areas for his new school's research on goats.

The 1965 Heisman Trophy-winning tailback who started bringing USC back to national prominence by hiring Pete Carroll to lead the football program is taking on another transformation project far away from the glitz and glamour.

His new job is to lead the athletic department at tiny Langston University, a historically black college in rural Oklahoma that competes in the NAIA. Just like at his old home, Garrett has set the same expectations: win national championships.

At his last stop, Garrett oversaw the creation of the "it" team of the last decade in college football. The Trojans won two national championships and three Heisman Trophies, with celebrities turning the L.A. Coliseum into a great place to see and be seen.

Garrett's tenure ended when the football and men's basketball teams were sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules - although the football team emerged from the penalties to grab the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press' preseason poll Saturday.



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